Posts

Showing posts with the label gardens

Featured Post

Wine time: The Frogs - Southwark Playhouse

Image
For a show called The Frogs, there isn’t much amphibian activity in the piece. But being a show with music by Stephen Sondheim, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s a critical theatrical piece. But like Sondheim’s final musical playing at the National Theatre, while it may not be a musical that fills you with provocative thoughts, it’s a fast-paced romp through hell and back to save the world for the sake of arts. With rousing choruses, thrilling choreography and plenty of cheap laughs, what more can you want from the theatre? It’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) . There isn’t much to the plot, except that Dionysus (Dan Buckley), disillusioned by the state of a divided world, and his sidekick and slave, Xanthias (Kevin McHale), cross the river Styx to the underworld to find a great writer who they can return to the world to teach the world about life. He has his mind set on bringing back George Bernard Shaw until he hears the poetry of Shakespeare.  This v...

Art: Venetia Norris and drawings inspired by Fenton House

Image
Hampstead's Fenton House is currently exhibiting a collection of drawings by London artist Venetia Norris . Norris has taken inspiration from the civilised and beautiful walled gardens of Fenton house and created a series of intricate and detailed drawings of plants and floral arrangements. An individual or pair of plants are captured in extraordinary detail and shading. And the images are a mix of pencil or ink interrupted by occasional lines of gold or silver-leaf (as illustrated opposite). A reflective evening at Fenton House. It runs until 1 July 2012. Be sure to explore the other rooms of this 17th century merchants house (and the the views of London from the roof) to see the impressive collection of early keyboard instruments and porcelain. Also to coincide with Open Squares Weekend and Fenton’s Summer Tea Party, Norris will be holding a number of 30-45-minute drawing workshops on 4th and 9th June 2012 (these will be held at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm on both day...